A sales manager asks how October went. One report says twelve deals, another says nineteen, and both come from the same CRM. Usually nobody made a mistake: one report counts deals created in October, the other counts deals closed in October. In an SME without a dedicated analyst this quietly erodes trust in the CRM. Pomio CRM recommends a simple split.
The close date answers questions about revenue
Use the close date for won revenue per month or quarter, progress against targets, commission and the forecast. These are questions about when money comes in, so the moment a deal is won or expected to be won is what counts. For open deals that means the expected close date, which only works if it is kept current: see why slipped close dates should be updated the same day. For won deals, agree when a deal counts as won, so the actual close date means the same for everyone.
The created date answers questions about new business
Use the created date to see how much new pipeline was added, which lead sources and campaigns delivered it and whether marketing and prospecting are keeping up. A month with few wins can still be a healthy month if a lot of good pipeline was created, and the close date view will never show that.
Conversion needs a group of deals, not a calendar month
To measure win rate or sales cycle length, take the deals created in one period and follow them until they are won or lost. Dividing deals won in October by deals created in October mixes two different groups and gives a misleading percentage. Report conversion per creation month or quarter and accept that recent months are not complete yet.
Write the date into every report
Put the date basis in the report name, for example “Won revenue by close date” or “New pipeline by created date”. Agree on a short standard set for the weekly pipeline review and the monthly management overview, so meetings start with the same figures. When you compare the forecast with actual results, use the close date on both sides.
Protect both dates
The created date should never be edited; if a deal was entered late, note the real first contact in a field or note instead. The expected close date should only change with a reason, and only by the owner or a manager. An audit trail of who changed which date keeps the revenue view trustworthy without extra checks.
A practical start
Review your existing reports this week and label each one with its date basis. Remove or rename reports whose basis nobody can explain. Then add one new pipeline report by created date next to the revenue report by close date, and use both in the next monthly review.